NHL lockout is latest slap at sports fans

Take a moment and think about the worst job you've ever had. Remember the boss and the pay. Think about the humiliation and tongue biting you endured to make ends meet.

Mine jumps to mind immediately.

I once spent two weeks dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow on the Long Island Bar Mitzvah circuit. It was awful work for awful pay. Thirteen-year-old boys don't care much for pirates and the younger children only took delight in pointing out how little I resembled Johnny Depp while kicking my shins as hard as humanly possible for an 8-year-old. To this day I don't know why Israel doesn't have a better soccer team.

So think of your Captain Jack Sparrow moment and compare it to the life of a professional athlete. Remember that lobster suit you wore in mid-July and see how it stacks up to a million-dollar signing bonus of an NFL rookie. Recall the look of disappointment in your parents' eyes when you told them what you'd been doing with your college degree and then imagine the five-star hotels the Dodgers stay in during road trips. Now consider that the NHL recently announced the cancellation of 82 regular-season games through Oct. 24, the third lockout involving NHL players in 19 years. Kind of makes you feel a bit cheated, right?

It seems every year there is another labor dispute in professional sports that leaves the rest of us scratching our heads. The player unions and leagues alike are holding our sports ransom and many fans are beginning to get fed up.

The NBA had a lockout in 1995, 1996, 1998-99, and most recently in 2011-12. Major League Baseball went so far as to cancel the entire 1994 postseason and World Series. The NFL locked out its players in 2011 and barely reached an agreement just prior to the start of the regular season. Now the referees have gotten into the fray and we all saw how that went. So where does that leave us?

With the economy reeling and unemployment hovering around 8 percent, I think it's about time players and owners alike take a moment and add some much-needed perspective regarding the consequences of their hard-headedness. At the end of the day, after all the strikes and lockouts, it is ultimately us fans pumping our hard-earned dollars into professional sports. We do it because we love the game. We do it to provide a brief distraction from the harsh realities of life. And to watch the owners and players squabble so incessantly for the money we inject is a slap in our painted faces.

So we should send a firm message together as fans to the Bud Seligs and Roger Goodells. We should band together as the true pulse of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB and let them all know that we are sick of the bickering. Tired of the disruptions. We are the ones being cheated by the labor disputes and until we, as fans, get some sort of appreciation for the effort we put forth, sporting strikes will continue to make even the most loyal supporters feel slighted.

What would happen if the fans joined together to strike the leagues and its players? What if we demanded a voice? A surefire way to keep them from fighting over merchandise revenue is to stop buying the damn jerseys in the first place. Maybe that would wake them up. Maybe then they might realize how fortunate they are to make a very generous living through the game they love.

Because somewhere in America there is a young man squeezing into a Sponge Bob costume, who's only saving grace this evening will be the postseason game he will be listening to inside that polyester dome of personal hell. He deserves at least that. And if you do happen to see him standing on the corner of Hollywood Boulevand and La Brea, don't kick him in the shin. Instead, smile warmly and tell him how much you enjoy his column.